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Council grants conditional use permit for VCOM expansion at 1701 Craft Drive
Summary
The council approved resolution 3B26 granting a conditional use permit for the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine to expand on a 4.448-acre parcel at 1701 Craft Drive, including a proposed 16,200 sq ft addition, expanded parking, multi-use trail connections and a requested buffer reduction; planning commission recommended approval 6–0 and no public objections were recorded.
The Blacksburg Town Council voted to approve resolution 3B26, granting a conditional use permit (CUP 257) that would allow the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) to expand operations to a 4.448-acre parcel at 1701 Craft Drive in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.
Nick Baker, the town staff member who presented the request, said the project would add a two-story, roughly 16,200-square-foot addition to an existing building and would expand parking from an existing 129 spaces to a proposed 239 spaces. The applicants also proposed a new 10-foot-wide multi-use trail, an outdoor amenity area, two monument signs and requested a reduction of the required buffer yard to a Type B buffer (a 15-foot buffer with a six-foot screen and small evergreen plantings), citing the lower site elevation as a natural visual and sound buffer. Staff noted the stormwater concept plan was approved by town engineering staff on Feb. 3, 2026.
The planning commission recommended approval of the CUP by a 6–0 vote, and staff said they had not received any public objections as of the presentation. An applicant representative, Steve Simonus of Westwood Professional Services, described community and planning feedback as positive and said the project team was prepared to begin design work if council approved the CUP.
Council approved the resolution following the presentation and applicant remarks.
Why it matters: The CUP would permit VCOM to expand medical-education capacity within the research center, with site work that includes building addition, parking expansion and pedestrian connections that the town said are consistent with the future land use map and the research-and-development zoning district.
What’s next: Staff will require the applicant to develop the property in conformance with the submitted concept plan (dated Jan. 23, 2026) and to install a walking path connecting the site to adjacent apartments as a condition of approval.
